“Be brief, be sincere, be seated.” Don’t we all wish those words spoken by Theodore Roosevelt were put into action by every public speaker today? We all remember powerful words spoken by leaders during critical times. Words like “Whether we bring our enemies to justice, or justice to our enemies, justice will be done,” spoken by George W. Bush after September 11, 2001. Speeches can be powerful, persuasive, comforting and can even bring about great emotion within us. Patti Eden’s 10^th grade speech students visited the American Freedom Museum on Wednesday to take part in “The Pen Is Mightier than the Sword” lab. Students listened to and evaluated some of the great speeches given by Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.  They looked at the common characteristics of a powerful persuasive speech and the effect those have on an audience. The students were assigned a gallery/time period  and were challenged to create their own 30 second persuasive speech using quotes found throughout the Museum. They were brief, they were sincere, and they were seated! Great job 10th grade Speech class!